


Paring the Rind

by miscellanium



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Arguing, Common Cold, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Gen, Sickfic, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3605277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miscellanium/pseuds/miscellanium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuzu really needed to stop falling for Yuuya's puppy eyes because they kept landing her in lousy situations, like sitting with a self-centered jerk while he blew his nose with gross honking noises then dropped the tissues on the floor. But this self-centered jerk was one of Yuuya's best friends, somehow, so for his sake at least she'd try to keep an open mind.</p><p>[written for the ygoanonmeme prompt "either shingo or yuzu being down with a cold is fine, but preferably shingo <s>so yuzu has to play mother hen</s>. can but doesn't have to be romantic"]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paring the Rind

Yuzu knocked on the door and it creaked open. "Hello? Anybody home?"

There was no answer but the door was unlocked and the grocery bag was getting heavy, so she stepped inside. The flat was smaller than she'd expected, somehow, but still quite spacious, the afternoon light casting a dignified glow on everything; she couldn't begin to guess which direction Sawatari's bedroom was in. She started forward and then down a hallway to her left she could hear a faint murmur punctuated with what sounded like explosions. That must be Sawatari. Gritting her teeth, she walked over and pushed his door open.

"Sakaki Yuuya?" From the way Sawatari mumbled even those few simple syllables it was clear he was badly congested. He was lying sprawled on his bed under three or four blankets, watching a movie on the tiny screen of his d-pad held close to his face.

"No. He's busy and asked me to come. God, you look awful," Yuzu said, raising her eyebrows. He really did; his nose was a raw red, his face pale save for shadows under his eyes, and his unwashed hair stuck out in every direction. He'd been sick now for about a week, according to Yuuya, and it showed.

"Hiiragi Yuzu?!" He dropped the d-pad on his face. "What are you—"

"Shut up and be grateful somebody came to check on you." Pulling a chair over from his desk Yuzu sat down, plastic bag in her lap. "Where are your parents?" 

Sawatari shrugged, wiping his nose on the tan cotton of his pajama sleeve. "Papa's out campaigning or something. Did you bring me food? Yuuya always brings me food." He propped himself up on his elbows, trying to peer into her bag.

"I brought some oranges, and—"

"No pie? I wanted pie," he whined. "Yuuya always—"

"Well, I'm not him! And so much sugar's bad for you! When you're sick you should eat healthy food!" Yuzu snapped at him, almost throwing the bag in his face.

Sawatari scowled at her but took one of the oranges, halfheartedly digging his thumbnail into it as he swiped through his d-pad looking for something else to watch. "Will you peel this for me?"

"Peel it yourself!"

"Okay, okay, jeez." He put the orange down to get a better grip on the d-pad and didn't touch it again.

Yuzu's neck and shoulders felt like they were made not from muscle but pure anger—actually, she had tensed up right when he first opened his mouth. Maybe she could send a bill to the Sawataris for a massage. Either way she'd get Yuuya back for this. He'd said he was busy shopping with his mother but with her luck he was just trying to find a new and in-demand pastry for Sawatari to taste. She really needed to stop falling for those puppy eyes because they kept landing her in lousy situations, like sitting with a self-centered jerk while he blew his nose with gross honking noises then dropped the tissues on the floor. But this self-centered jerk was one of Yuuya's best friends, somehow, so for his sake at least she'd try to keep an open mind.

"Have you been alone all day?" asked Yuzu, leaning back and looking around. Even with the curtains drawn and the room dark she could see more crumpled tissues scattered around, dirty plates piled up here and there; it was because he wasn't faking being sick, she knew, but regardless she got a certain pleasure from getting to witness this mess instead of the carefully manicured image he tried to carry around.

Holding his d-pad above his face again, Sawatari hit play on another movie. "Nah, my friends came over earlier. Brought me ice cream."

Yuzu grimaced—seriously, was he eating nothing else?—but at least it sounded like those three guys always hanging around him actually were his friends. She sat there, swinging her feet and trying to think of something to talk about, while the lovely music of machine guns and screaming spilled out of the d-pad. The movie painted flickering blues and whites on Sawatari's face, deepening the shadows, and with his frown and tired grey eyes he looked less like the arrogant LDS student she knew and more like someone who could be her brother.

Then he sniffled until he started hacking and she didn't want to look at him anymore.

"Okay, seriously, you need to watch that on a bigger screen," Yuzu said, spinning around on her chair as she searched the room for something suitable. "And not so close to your face. You'll ruin your eyes."

"Whatever, mom," Sawatari muttered, trying to balance the d-pad on his forehead and nose. Did he want to avoid holding up his arms now? Really?

Yuzu growled, clenching her fists, then snatched the d-pad out of his hands. Better that than strangling him.

"Wh—"

"We're gonna use your desktop computer." Glowering, Sawatari reached for his d-pad but Yuzu held it high. "Nope! No. Suck it up."

Sawatari flopped back with a huff, crossing his arms. Ignoring him, she slapped the d-pad down on the desk and turned on the computer. It was a nice computer, but people these days didn't really need anything that bulky when their d-pads could do so much. His dad had probably bought it for him as a present or something.

Yuzu angled the monitor so it was easier to see from the bed then brought up the website he'd been using and scrolled through the movies. "So, what were you watching? Or do you want to pick something else? How about this one?"

"Seen it."

She glanced over; he wasn't even looking in her direction. Unbelievable. No—it was believable, but she'd never felt so profoundly annoyed in her life.

"At least sit up. It's better for you when you're all stuffed up," she said, not bothering to hide her irritation.

Sawatari shifted onto his side, away from her. "I'm fine like this."

"Believe me, you'll feel better if you sit up." Yuzu went to put a hand on his arm but he shook it off, rolling back over to glare at her.

"Leave me alone! God!" He kicked at her and started to get out of bed, doubling over with a barking cough before his feet hit the floor. Yuzu stepped back, watching him curl in on himself, unsure whether to stay. After he'd gone hoarse he fell back onto the bed, breathing heavily. His eyes were half-closed and he looked miserable, just like the time Yuuya'd been stuck at home with pinkeye from not cleaning those goggles right, so she pulled the blankets over him.

"Ugh, now I'm hot," Sawatari moaned, shoving weakly at the blankets. It figured. She pressed her fingers hard against her eyes then folded his blankets down, feeling his gaze on her but refusing to look at him, and left the room. It didn't take long to find a washcloth and run it under the kitchen faucet, and as she walked back down the hall with it cold in her hands she asked herself again why she was doing this. Yuuya visited because they were friends, she could understand that much, though how he put up with this guy was a mystery. Yuzu's line of thought was cut off, however, when she entered the room to find Sawatari sitting bent over on the edge of the bed again with his face somehow even paler than before.

He glanced at her, greasy blond bangs falling into his face, and opened his mouth only to slap a hand over it. Oh no, oh no—she looked around for something, anything, grabbing a wastebasket and shoving it at him. He took it, gripping it tight enough his knuckles went white, and mumbled what might have been an apology before heaving and bringing up everything he'd eaten earlier.

Twisting her face at the sour smell, Yuzu stayed where she was a good few feet away. But then he was retching, stomach empty, and when she saw his eyes watering she went to put a hand on his back, rubbing in gentle circles; he was just a fumbling kid like the rest of them, like her, no matter how hard he tried to act otherwise.

Sawatari shuddered, head low, and let the wastebasket drop to the floor between his feet. He didn't shrug her off this time, just sighed long and heavy as he hid his face with both hands. She felt like she should say something but couldn't think of what. Then she saw an orange on the floor, the one he'd abandoned earlier, and knelt to pick it up. Digging her thumb into the top she broke the skin, tearing half of it off before nudging him.

He moved his hands down, still keeping his mouth covered, and stared hard at her. She didn't look away and after a moment he took the fruit from her, fingers working at the rest of the peel. After exchanging the wastebasket for a clean one she retrieved his d-pad from the desk then sat next to him, hand on his back once more, and turned it on. They stayed like this the rest of the afternoon, not talking but eating oranges and watching action movies on his bed, and when she had to leave he saw her out.

"Same time next week?" Sawatari asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

Yuzu raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be feeling better by then?"

"Yeah, probably. So?" He stuck his hands into his pajama pockets, expression giving nothing away.

She looked at him, at his tangled hair and fever-red cheeks, then chuckled and shook her head. Without saying anything she turned and walked away, leaving him with a brief wave goodbye and a bag of orange peels on his bedroom floor.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! please leave kudos and/or comments if you can, they mean a lot to me


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